Life Al-Ghazali was born in Tus in 1058. His real name was Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazālī and he has several nicknames. He had his first education in Tus from Ahmed bin Muhammed er-Razikânî after a while he moved to Gorgan and proceed his education with Ebû Nasr el-İsmailî. After that he continues Nishapur Nezamiyeh till he became 28. After his teacher Abdulmalik Al-İmam Al-Haramain’s dead, he moved from Nishapur to vizier of the Seljuk Empire Nizam al-Mulk.In 1091 his wisdom and success noticed and he placed in BaghdadNezamiyeh as head of the murderers. During a deep depression he leans to Sufism.Because of his interest of sufizm and plans of going Hajj he quit Nezamiyeh.He went to Damascus in 1095 and he stays there for 2 years. In 1097 he went to Hajj and after his duty of pilgrimage he went back to Damascus and Tus. In 1106 he returns to Nishapur Nezamiyeh and start teaching again. He maintains a sufi life and died in 1111 in Tus where is his birthplace.
Works and Thought
*Al-Ghazali wrote more than 70 books in the sciences, Islamic philosophy and Sufism.
*He wrote most of his Arabic and a few in Persian.
* He gave the most effective, systematic and serious criticism of philosophers from the Islamic world.
*His 11th century book titled The Incoherence of the Philosophers marks a major turn in Islamic epistemology.
*The autobiography, al-Ghazali wrote towards the end of his life, Deliverance From Error is considered a work of major importance.
* At the insistence of his students in Jerusalem, al-Ghazali wrote a concise exposition of Islam entitled The Jerusalem Tract.
List of his Works
Theology
al-Munqidh min al-dalal (Rescuer from Error)
Hujjat al-Haq (Proof of the Truth)
al-Iqtisad fil-i`tiqad (Median in Belief)
al-maqsad al-asna fi sharah asma' Allahu al-husna (The best means in explaining Allah's Beautiful Names)
Jawahir al-Qur'an wa duraruh (Jewels of the Qur'an and its Pearls)
Fayasl al-tafriqa bayn al-Islam wa-l-zandaqa (The Criterion of Distinction between Islam and Clandestine Unbelief)
Ihya' ulum al-din, "Revival of Religious Sciences"
Bidayat al-hidayah (Beginning of Guidance)
Kimiya-yi sa'ādat (The Alchemy of Happiness) [a résumé of Ihya'ul ulum, in Persian]
Nasihat al-muluk (Counseling Kings) [in Persian]
al-Munqidh min al-dalal (Rescuer from Error)
Minhaj al-'Abidin (Methodology for the Worshipers)
Philosophy
Maqasid al falasifa (Aims of Philosophers) [written in the beginning of his life, in favour of philosophy and presenting the basic theories in Philosophy, mostly influenced by Avicenna's works]
Tahafut al-Falasifa (The Incoherence of the Philosophers), [in this book he refutes the Greek Philosophy aiming at Avicenna and Al-Farabi; and of which Ibn Rushd wrote his famous refutation Tahafut al-tahafut (The Incoherence of the Incoherence)]
Miyar al-Ilm fi fan al-Mantiq (Criterion of Knowledge in the Art of Logic)
Mihak al-Nazar fi al-mantiq (Touchstone of Reasoning in Logic)
al-Qistas al-mustaqim (The Correct Balance)
Jurisprudence
Fatawy al-Ghazali (Verdicts of al-Ghazali)
Al-wasit fi al-mathab (The medium [digest] in the Jurisprudential school)
Kitab tahzib al-Isul (Prunning on Legal Theory)
al-Mustasfa fi 'ilm al-isul (The Clarified in Legal Theory)
Asas al-Qiyas (Foundation of Analogical reasoning)
Al-Ghazali
Life
Al-Ghazali was born in Tus in 1058. His real name was Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazālī and he has several nicknames. He had his first education in Tus from Ahmed bin Muhammed er-Razikânî after a while he moved to Gorgan and proceed his education with Ebû Nasr el-İsmailî. After that he continues Nishapur Nezamiyeh till he became 28. After his teacher Abdulmalik Al-İmam Al-Haramain’s dead, he moved from Nishapur to vizier of the Seljuk Empire Nizam al-Mulk.In 1091 his wisdom and success noticed and he placed in BaghdadNezamiyeh as head of the murderers.
During a deep depression he leans to Sufism.Because of his interest of sufizm and plans of going Hajj he quit Nezamiyeh.He went to Damascus in 1095 and he stays there for 2 years. In 1097 he went to Hajj and after his duty of pilgrimage he went back to Damascus and Tus. In 1106 he returns to Nishapur Nezamiyeh and start teaching again. He maintains a sufi life and died in 1111 in Tus where is his birthplace.
Works and Thought
*Al-Ghazali wrote more than 70 books in the sciences, Islamic philosophy and Sufism.
*He wrote most of his Arabic and a few in Persian.
* He gave the most effective, systematic and serious criticism of philosophers from the Islamic world.
*His 11th century book titled The Incoherence of the Philosophers marks a major turn in Islamic epistemology.
*The autobiography, al-Ghazali wrote towards the end of his life, Deliverance From Error is considered a work of major importance.
* At the insistence of his students in Jerusalem, al-Ghazali wrote a concise exposition of Islam entitled The Jerusalem Tract.
List of his Works
Theology
Sufism
Philosophy
Jurisprudence
References:
*__http://www.netmuslims.com/index.php/islamic-articles/muslim-contributions/89-muslim-philosophy__
*__http://www.felsefe.gen.tr/el_gazali_kimdir.asp__
*__http://www.sozkimin.com/a/1220-gazali-kimdir-sozleri-ve-hayati.html__
*__http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ip/rep/H028.htm__
*__http://www.cis-ca.org/voices/g/ghazali.htm__
Prepared by İlayda Bilgin